National Association of Community Health Centers

News Conference: Bipartisan Members of Congress, Advocates, to Discuss Funding for Health Centers

Bipartisan Lawmakers, Advocates to Discuss Funding for Community Health Centers

WHAT: Congressional supporters and health center advocates – including patients, board members and executives — from across the country will discuss the dire need to extend funding for Community Health Centers. The Community Health Center Fund (CHCF), a key source of funding for health centers, expired on September 30, 2017, and has since been extended through only March 31, 2018. The CHCF provides 70% of grant funding to the health center program and makes up on average, 20% of operation at the organization level. Every health center has been affected by the “funding cliff” and have either taken action already or are actively considering measures that will impact patient care, such as site closures, workforce reductions and cutbacks to vital programs and services, like opioid addiction treatment or prenatal care [see Kaiser Family Foundationarticle: “How Are Health Centers Responding to the Funding Delay?”]. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has projected that the national impact of the loss of funding (the “funding cliff”) will close 2,800 health center locations, eliminate more than 50,000 jobs, and result in loss of access to care for more than 9 million patients. Health centers serve 27 million people and play a key role as responders in protecting America’s public health.